A/N: I've always been a Luka fan, but something about the relationship between Sam and Luka drew me to write a fic about them. This story has been lingering in my head since the episode where the two slept together and I finally got around to writing it out.
Reviews would be great if you all like what you read. :o) First chapter's just a basic intro. Based on spoilers through the latter part of Season 10, or what I've read anyway.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ER Characters. They are property of their respective owners. No infringement intended. Just borrowing for creative purposes.
ROOM TO BREATHE
CHAPTER 1
* * * *
April 24, 2004Sam sleepily rolled over in her double bed, squinting as the bright sunlight filtered through the blinds. Groaning, she sat up and yawned. It was way too bright for six AM. Way too early to be up on a Saturday morning. But her shift started in an hour, and she knew she had to get up right now, or she'd fall right back asleep.
Pulling on a sweatshirt jacket over her tank top and pajama pants, Sam looked at the clock and felt her breath catch in her throat. It was ten thirty. She was three and a half hours late for her shift. Last week when she had been ten minutes late for her shift, Kerry had practically flipped. Now she was heading towards four hours late. Kerry would kill her when she showed up at County, if she wasn't already on her way over to the apartment to do so.
"Alex!" Sam grabbed a pair of scrubs she had just washed the night before and tugged the pants on while digging around in her drawer for the scrub top. "Dammit!" Spotting the scrub top in the bottom of the laundry basket, she dumped the entire thing out and picked it up, along with her bra from the night before and quickly changed before her nine-year-old son could enter the room. "Alex?"
Alex walked into the room in his tee shirt and sweatpants. "What?"
"I'm super late for work today. You going over Mikey's? Let me know in like…three minutes if you have any plans because I really need to leave before my boss—what's wrong?" Sam had just noticed the disappointed look in her son's face as he handed her a note. "What's this?" She scanned the note quickly and instantly, anger took over her:
Sam & Alex,
Something came up and I have to leave town for a little while. Don't really know when I'll be back. I'll call.
Love,
Steve
Sam crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash. In a way, she had expected it all along. Steve, the deadbeat dad, looking her up and strolling back into town when he needed a place to stay and her money to spend. He had been feeding her the "I want to be a better dad and I promise I'll stick around this time" bullshit for years now, and she had believed him. The only thing he had accomplished in their whole "relationship" was getting her pregnant when she was fifteen, nine years ago. "I'm sorry, sweetie—"
"Forget it. It doesn't matter. Can I just come to work with you today?"
Sam nodded and ruffled Alex's hair. "Sure. Get dressed and bring your gameboy. You up for hanging out into the lounge until lunch?"
"Whatever. Luka called like, two hours ago and wanted to know where you were."
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I dunno. He said he'd stop by if you weren't in before twelve."
"I guess Kerry's not on today."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Hey, we'll talk about this later, okay?" Sam called after him.
"Sure." Alex's bedroom door slammed loudly, and Sam sighed, retreating to the bathroom to attempt to tame her hair and brush her teeth.
* * * *
Sam and Alex arrived at County General about twenty minutes later. Sam could tell just by the lack of conversation and joking in their walk how upset Alex really was. He hadn't said one word to her since they left the apartment.
Passing through the ambulance bay, Sam made her way up to admit to check the board. Thankfully, they weren't too backed up today, so she grabbed a chart, taking off her sweatshirt jacket at the same time.
"Can I take off for Mikey's at three?" Alex followed Sam to the lounge as she held open the door for him, eyes still reading over the chart. "Mom."
"Yeah. Just chill in here and when you want to leave, find me and make sure you tell me," Sam said. She opened her locker instantly and shoved her jacket, Alex's jacket, and her bag into it.
Alex rolled his eyes and sat down at the table, pulling out his game boy. "What did you do to make Dad leave this time?"
Sam grabbed her stethoscope roughly and placed it around her neck. "I didn't do anything to make him leave, Alex. You know how Steve is. He never stays."
"He said he would this time!" Alex shouted out. "He said he would be more of a dad!"
"Yeah, but—" The lounge door swung open and Luka walked in. He smiled when he saw Alex and Sam, but his smile fell when he saw what he had just walked into and how tense the situation was.
"Face it, Mom. Dad left again because of your screwed up problems. If you weren't so screwed up, maybe he would have stayed this time around!"
Sam's face fell and she slammed her locker door. "Okay. Fine. We'll finish this conversation later, okay?"
"Hey, maybe Luka can prescribe you something so you're not so screwed up!"
"Keep it up, Alex, or you're grounded for the rest of the week," Sam warned him.
"I'm going to Mikey's for lunch."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
Sam brushed past Luka and stalked off, down the hall.
Luke sighed and turned to Alex. "Don't give your Mom such a hard time, all right?"
"It's her fault—"
"Whether or not it's her fault, she probably does already feel bad about it."
"Yeah."
Luka smiled at him again and headed out of the lounge and into the hall. He spotted Sam a few feet ahead of him, almost right outside the lounge door. She appeared to be studying the chart intently, although he could tell how angry she really was. Sam didn't have any intention of hiding it. She was angry—more so at Steve than at Alex, but she knew that Alex was only just taking everything out on her.
"Hey," Luka greeted her. "You know, that chart's not going to turn into a patient."
"Oh. Yeah." Sam smiled and tucked a strand of curly hair behind her ear. She started slowly walking away from Luka and slammed the chart on the counter. She felt Luka's hand on her arm and glanced up into his eyes. It practically made her knees weak, but then again, she considered herself pretty weak these days.
"What's going on, Sam?" Luka questioned. He led her to a set of open chairs opposite the admit desk and she sat down. Luka took a chair next to her and stared at her with concern. "You were almost four hours late today. Did something happen? Are you okay? Alex?"
"Everything is going on," Sam laughed sarcastically, resting her head up against the wall behind the chairs. "For some reason my alarm didn't go off at six thirty like it was supposed to. I overslept until ten thirty, only to find out that Steve took off sometime in the middle of the night and left a note, which Alex found and now blames me for. He thinks that something happened between Steve and I that made him leave. Or, you know, it could just be my screwed up problems. And you know what? I'm fucking happy that Steve left. All he wants to do is look me up when he needs a place to stay or money to spend and I'm tired of it. His child support payments are already three months late. You know how much that sucks? To worry that the next time you come home your electricity will be shut off because you didn't pay the bill on time? I mean, I can't even drive myself to work because I can't afford a car! So how would I be able to afford car payments and car insurance? Whatever. Plus, I think I caught the bug that Alex had two weeks ago because all I've been is tired lately and my throat is sore as hell. Bottom line, now I know I'm going to get shit from Kerry for being late today. I'm just waiting for it. And that'll be the icing on the cake!"
"Dr. Kovac?" Malik had approached them in chairs, two gowns in hand. "MVA coming in. Three criticals and one minor. Just letting you guys know."
"Thanks." Luka took one of the gowns and handed the other to Sam. "Listen, what are you doing tonight?"
"Nothing," Sam replied as she tied the back of the gown. "Alex is probably sleeping over Mikey's. He always does when he's mad at me."
"What do you say about renting a movie? I'll make dinner. Your place or mine?"
"Make it mine. I need a good excuse to clean it up anyway," Sam smiled.
"Okay. This was we'll get a chance to you know, talk about—"
"Us," Sam added. "Yeah."
"Yeah."
"What time?"
Luka glanced at the clock over the admit desk. "What time are you off?"
"Six. You?"
"Five. I'll wait in the lounge. I want you to get checked out for that bug before we go though."
Sam reluctantly agreed to getting checked out, just as the ambulance pulled up outside. "Looks pretty serious."
Luka nodded his head. "Yeah. Hey, don't worry about Kerry. She's with her lawyer all day today about Henry."
"Thanks. I expected someone to rat me out."
"Don't worry about it. No one will."
* * * *
The day seemed to drag on after Sam finished up that trauma and her various charts. She had sent a brooding Alex to Mikey's around two, but by four thirty, Sam was ready to call it a day herself. Not only was she still tired, but her throat hurt more than ever and so did her head.
Chuny grabbed onto Sam's arm just as Sam was about to pass into the lounge for some water. "Hey Sam, did we ever get those lab results back on the patient in Curtain Three?"
"I'm not really sure. Ask Jerry and see if he knows anything about it. I know we're backed up though!" Sam called out over her shoulder. Opening the lounge door, Sam almost collided straight into Luka, who was holding a chart in one hand and half of a bagel in the other.
"Hey," he greeted her through a mouthful of bagel. "Howdaufehl?"
"What?" Sam laughed. "Swallow."
He did and grinned. "I said, how do you feel?"
"Like crap, but okay. Just getting some water for my throat and wishing it was six already."
"As soon as I finish these charts up I'm off," Luka added, following Sam back into the lounge. He placed the charts on the table and handed her a bottle of water from the fridge. She took it from him thankfully and sipped it, coughing a little bit.
"Don't rub it in."
Luke placed his hand on her head. "You're warm."
"It's hot in here."
"No it's not," he smiled. "You probably have a fever."
"No—"
"I'll be right back with a thermometer."
Sam sighed and sat down in the chair, holding the bottle of water in her hand. Luka returned with a thermometer and she opened her mouth obediently. Within seconds, it beeped, and Luka checked the number that had registered.
"A hundred point two," he told her. "You're going home at five with me."
"I can't go home at five. I was already late this morning. I should be working until at least nine instead of six."
"You're going home at five."
"I can't!"
"Yes, you can, and you are. Even if that means I'll have to drag you out of her over my shoulder, you're going home to get some rest while I make you dinner. We had a deal." Luka grinned again and brushed some pieces of hair off of Sam's face.
"Fine," Sam sighed. "Let me call Alex at Mikey's and find out if he's sleeping over or whatever."
"Good, then I'll set you up to be examined in Curtain One."
"Luka…I'm fine," she protested.
"Then humor me and we'll see how fine you really are." Luka walked out of the room. "Call Alex!"
* * * *
By five thirty, Sam's various tests had been sent off to the lab, along with her throat culture. Alex was spending the night and part of Sunday at Mikey's, so she didn't have to worry about picking him up until the afternoon. Plus, she was off on Sundays, which meant that she could spend the day resting and hopefully making some order out of her trashed apartment.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah. In a sec." Sam slipped on her sneakers and grabbed her bag off of the bed. "Did you get the results back yet?"
"They said they'd call you in the morning. The lab is backed up."
"Could have told you that one."
Luka laughed and took his car keys out of his pocket. "Alex still upset with you?"
"Upset is an understatement." They passed admit and out the front doors, headed towards the parking deck.
"It's not your fault, "Luka said softly. "So don't blame yourself."
"Try telling that to Alex. I'm hoping he's cooled off enough tomorrow before he tries convincing you to prescribe me something again."
* * * *
Short, and maybe a little boring, but it's only the first chapter and I needed to get something up. Next chapters will be progressively longer. Review!